I wanted to give an update on the Rail Planner Eurail/Interrail app. It was such a help during my trip but unfortunately during the last couple of days, all of the regional train options have been deleted. Now the only options/ info about train routes are for the Intercity and high speed trains (trains that require a reservation). I am guessing the same thing has happened for train options in other countries for this app.
I checked the app store last night and found an app called Trenit find trains in Italy. It seems to be almost as good as far as the routes displayed. The Rail Planner app showed both just the stops from your departing station to arrival station as well as the entire route. The Trenit app shows the station before your departing station and the end arrival station for the route. I guess that is all the info you would really need.
The Trenit app does not work offline but it does show prices for the train tickets, including economy, base, etc and which ones are still available which I do not believe was available with the Rail Planner app. I am not sure if you can purchase tickets with the Trenit app but the pricing info is helpful! There is an in-app purchase for this app. That might be for purchasing tickets or just to remove the ads. The ads do not seem to be too bothersome on the free version.
While on my trip, I took a tiny regional train from Brescia to Iseo. This train provided no info/announcements for any of the stops and many of the train stations were so small that it was impossible to know what train station the train was stopping at when looking out the window unless you happened to be seated next to the window right where the tiny sign on the station was located. You would need some prior knowledge of the area/train stops, a list of the stops for the train written down, or an app like I had that provided info about each stop on the route. In the past, I always printed out info with all the stops from screenshots or wrote down the stops if there were not too many for the trains I planned to take. This was much more work though than the handy app. I still asked after every stop to make sure I did not miss my stop! The train was running later and later after each stop so I could not depend on the time that my train was supposed to arrive in Iseo.
One guy got off at the wrong stop. He got on my train and talked to one of the train guys about his situation and was told he could either stay on the train until the last stop and then the train would be returning past the stop he got on and then take him to his stop or he could get back off and wait for the train to finish its route and then return back towards Brescia, which would take about an hour and then get back on to go to his stop! I am really glad I had that app and did not miss my train stop in Iseo! Looking at the Trenit app, I believe it would work similarly but you would need data on your phone for it to work (unless you took screenshots while you had wifi).
Another train app my friend in Italy recommended is called InfoTreno. This app will show the train along the route and if it is delayed at all with the number of minutes as well as the exact time it should be arriving at your departure stop (with the added delayed time calculated and changing after each stop). You need to know your train number to input into the app. You also need data or wifi to use the app. We tried it out for the train I was taking after my visit with her. It worked great! It is a free app.
AND while looking for a replacement app for the Rail Planner app, I found an app called Trenord. It seems a little more complicated than the Trenit app but if you are taking a lot of trains in the Lombardia region, I am guessing it would be a helpful app.
